EESC insists on tackling microplastic pollution from plastic pellets

Microplastic pollution has emerged as a critical environmental concern, with its detrimental impact reaching far and wide across ecosystems and human health. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) acknowledges the urgency of addressing the issue and supports the European Commission’s proposal to regulate microplastic pellet operations and emissions.

At the EESC, the February plenary adopted a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastics pollution.

Microplastics, defined as solid plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, pose a significant threat to the environment and public health. They can enter the air, water and soil, persisting for long periods and accumulating in living organisms. Plastic pellets are one of the largest sources of unintentional microplastic pollution, used for producing plastics goods. Tackling plastic pellet losses requires a multifaceted approach that addresses different sources and stages of microplastic pollution.

Rapporteur, Andras Edelenyi, said: “Let’s create substantial information based on microplastic emissions, impact and prevention and intervention areas in order to direct and focus our resources to mitigate them in the most efficient way.”

The EESC emphasises the need for standardised methodologies to track and estimate microplastic pellet losses along the supply chain. By developing robust monitoring systems, policymakers can gauge progress towards environmental targets and identify areas requiring intervention. Additionally, addressing secondary microplastics from various sources is a crucial step in comprehensive pollution mitigation.

One of the challenges in regulating microplastic pollution lies in balancing environmental protection with socio-economic feasibility. The EESC recognises the importance of tailored regulations that consider the capacity of smaller enterprises, while ensuring significant reductions in pellet emissions. By offering lighter requirements for micro and small enterprises and promoting awareness and training across the workforce, policymakers can foster compliance without unduly burdening businesses.

Maria Nikolopoulou, co-rapporteur of the opinion, said: "The regulation on pellets is a good first step and we hope to see soon a proposal for the rest of the microplastic pollutants such us tires, paint, textiles, geotextiles and washing capsules!"

Furthermore, international cooperation is essential for addressing microplastic pollution, particularly when it comes to non-EU market imports and maritime transport. Harmonising regulations and sharing best practices with international partners can create a level playing field for all stakeholders and minimise pollution hotspots along global supply chains.

Investment in research is paramount for addressing microplastic pollution. The EESC emphasises evidence-based policymaking and calls for increased efforts to understand the impacts of microplastics on human and ecological health. By filling knowledge gaps and developing comprehensive risk assessments, policymakers can formulate targeted interventions to reduce microplastics pollution’s harmful effects and conduct mid-term reviews to ensure the right measures are taken.

In conclusion, the EESC’s support for regulating microplastic pellet operations reflects a concerted effort to address one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. By adopting a comprehensive approach that combines regulatory measures, scientific research and international cooperation, policymakers can pave the way for a cleaner, healthier future for all.

We remind, circular plastics now account for 13.5% of the content in new plastic products manufactured in Europe, according to industry association Plastics Europe (Brussels). The association today published its biennial “The Circular Economy for Plastics: A European Analysis” report, which noted that the figure means the European plastics sector is more than halfway toward the interim ambition of Plastics Europe’s Plastics Transition roadmap to use 25% of plastics from circular sources in new products by 2030.

mrchub.com

LG Chem announced on the 19th that it signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Institute of Environmental Industry and Technology to support small and medium-sized companies in the chemical industry to strengthen their ESG capabilities, said the company.

With this agreement, the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Institute of Environmental Industry and Technology are LG Chem's small and medium-sized companies in Korea. It supports mid-sized suppliers to strengthen their carbon competitiveness and enhance their ability to respond to related regulations.

The main support contents include support for carrying out Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), process diagnosis and carbon reduction items, and support for process improvement activities to reduce carbon. It is to improve the level of environmental management of mid-sized companies and strengthen their ability to respond to global regulations.

LG Chem is a leading chemical industry company and has participated in preparing the foundation for responding to carbon emission regulations in the entire product process, including the establishment of the LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) database promoted by the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Institute of Environment and Industry.

The LCI DB quantifies environmental impact information such as greenhouse gases emitted from the entire process, such as raw material use, manufacturing, and transportation, and is essential when performing LCA. A reliable LCI DB is essential to cope with global customers' carbon regulations such as the European Union's carbon border coordination system (CBAM) and battery licenses.

The Ministry of Environment and the Korea Institute of Environmental Industry and Technology have established "carbon-reducing product design and production consulting" this year to enhance environmental management capabilities and reduce product carbon so that small and medium-sized companies can respond to environmental trade regulations in a timely manner.

We remind, LG Chem Ltd. and Italy's energy giant Eni Sustainable Mobility (SM) have tentatively agreed to build a hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) production plant in South Korea. If completed, the joint venture plant will become the first HVO facility with its entire supply chain from feedstock to finished products based in Korea, according to LG.

mrchub.com

INEOS has proposed closing its ethanol plant at its Grangemouth site in Britain in the first quarter of next year, said the company.

"The decision comes after a lengthy review and is the result of a reduction in demand for ethanol in Europe combined with increasing pressure from imports of ethanol from other regions. This has resulted in the ethanol business at Grangemouth running at a loss for several years," the company said in a statement.

The firm said it will start consultations with employees and the trade union about the proposal.

"All ethanol-based employees will be offered an alternative role within our business. Moreover, customers will be offered the supply of ethanol from INEOS’ other plant in Herne, Germany," said Stuart Collings, chief executive of INEOS O&P UK.

We remind, Ineos Inovyn, the chlorvinyls arm of UK-based chemical company Ineos, has announced that its PVC production operations in Jemeppe, Belgium, will be partly powered by solar energy starting this summer, said the company. The Jemeppe site is one of the largest PVC production facilities in Europe, with 420,000 tonnes supplied to sectors such as building, automotive, and piping every year.

mrchub.com

Chevron USA Inc. division Chevron New Energies has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation to study a potential carbon dioxide (CO2) value chain in the Asia Pacific region, said the company.

The MoU provides a framework to evaluate the export of CO2 from Japan to carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Australia and other countries in the Asia Pacific region, the two companies said in a joint news release Monday.

The two companies are targeting to create a CCS value chain, transporting CO2 emitted from industries in Japan by ship to Chevron’s greenhouse gas portfolio in Australia. The collaboration will also “explore the opportunity to develop suitable transboundary policies and the potential development of CO2 storage sites in other countries in the Asia Pacific region”, according to the release.

“We look forward to building off our long-standing relationship with JX and ENEOS Group, the largest Japanese global petroleum and metals conglomerate, and hope that this joint study ultimately contributes to the further development of large-scale CCS hubs throughout the Asia Pacific region”, Chris Powers, Chevron Vice President of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), said. “We believe large-scale CCS value chain projects will play a key role in advancing Asia Pacific’s lower carbon aspirations, and that long-term collaborations are necessary to meet these aspirations”.

“This MOU is achieved thanks to the significant oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) relationship with Chevron that we have had over seven decades, and further demonstrates the commitment and dedication of the companies in helping advance lower carbon solutions”. JX Executive Vice President Tetsuo Yamada said.

“JX has positioned CCS as an important initiative in its business strategy under its 'Two-Pronged' approach, in which, in addition to the conventional oil and natural gas development business, decarbonization initiatives centered on CCS/CCUS are another prong of the company's operations such as the Petra Nova CCUS project in Texas, USA”, Yamada continued. “JX will contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society by leveraging the knowledge we have accumulated through our various CCS/CCUS-related businesses”.

Chevron in March 2023 also signed an MoU with JERA Co., Inc. to collaborate on CCS projects located in the USA and Australia. The MoU targeted to expand the LNG relationship between the two companies.

Earlier in the month, JX Nippon signed an MoU with ENEOS Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and PETRONAS CCS Solutions Sdn Bhd (PCCSS), an affiliate of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), to jointly evaluate CCS value chains between Japan and Malaysia.

Specifically, the companies will study capturing CO2 from industries in the Tokyo Bay area, or the Keihin and Keiyo areas, and shipping it to CO2 storage in Malaysia, according to a separate news release.

The companies estimate to capture around 3 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of CO2, potentially increasing to 6 million mtpa, and target to start operations by 2030. The project will be “one of the largest scale of the currently planned CCS projects” in Japan, JX Nippon said.
mrchub.com

Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co. Ltd. has reported CNY/RMB 34.6 billion ($4.8 billion) in revenue from petrochemical contracts for 2023, up 9.5 percent against 2022, said Rigzone.

The company, majority-owned by the state’s China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group), attributed the growth to domestic projects including an ethylene production facility of Exxon Mobil Corp., an ethylene co-venture between Sinopec and Ineos, and the second phase of Sinopec’s Zhenhai Base refining and chemical complex.

Texas-based ExxonMobil has made a multi-billion-dollar investment in the Huizhou City project, which has a planned steam cracker capacity of about 1.6 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa), according to the American oil and gas giant’s final investment decision announcement November 8, 2021.

Meanwhile the 50-50 venture between Sinopec and London-based petrochemicals, chemicals and oil products manufacturer Ineos in Tianjin city has a planned cracker capacity of 1.2 MMtpa. The project also includes a high-density polyethylene unit that can produce 0.5 MMtpa. The complex is expected to start production April 2024, according to an Ineos news release August 2, 2023.

At Zhenhai Base Phase II, Sinopec is building an 11 MMtpa refinery unit and a 0.6 MMtpa propane dehydrogenation and downstream unit. The second phase had an investment of CNY 11.25 billion ($1.6 billion) as of June 2023, according to a Sinopec report August 25, 2023.

“China’s high level of opening up to the world and the development needs from petrochemical industries and industrial facilities in many countries in the world have provided us a wide stage”, board chair Dejun Jiang said in a statement accompanying Sinopec Engineering’s annual report for 2024.

However, the Beijing-based company, which provides engineering, procurement, construction and logistic services to the energy and chemical industries, saw net profit land largely flat at CNY 2.3 billion ($324.5 million) as refining and coal revenues fell.

“Due to the refining projects such as Hainan Refining are [sic] settled and ended, Huajin and other newly signed refining projects are in the pre-construction stage, the revenue from the oil refining industry was RMB6.773 billion [$940.8 million] representing a decrease of 8.7 percent on a year-on-year basis”, Sinopec Engineering said in the report posted on its website.

“Due to the impact of the reduction of new coal chemical on-hand contracts, the revenue from new coal chemicals industry was RMB557 million ($77.4 million), representing a decrease of 39.0 percent on a year-on-year basis”.

Independent clients in China accounted for 45.9 percent of orders, while overseas clients accounted for 26.7 percent. The parent company, Sinopec, accounted for 27.4 percent.

Yearly basic earnings per share stood at CNY 0.53 ($0.07), up 2.2 percent year-on-year. The board has proposed a total annual dividend per share of CNY 0.343 ($0.05).

Net cash flow from operating activities totaled CNY 2.5 billion ($347.3 million) for 2023, down 63 percent year-over-year.

Sinopec Engineering said it will focus on settling trade debts and reining in working capital spent on operating activities. It ended 2023 with CNY 72.6 billion ($10.1 billion) in current assets and CNY 48 billion ($6.7 billion) in current liabilities.

We remind, Sinopec Corp announced that it has encountered substantial oil and gas flows in a pivotal exploration shale well located in southwest China. The Xingye-9 well, situated in the Liangping area of Chongqing municipality, is positioned within the gas-rich Sichuan basin. Sinopec has revealed that the well exhibited a daily production of 108.15 cubic meters of oil and 15,800 cubic meters of gas during its testing phase.

mrchub.com